Prince William writes to bereaved officers and family members of Police Orphans Fund

Prince William talks about the importance of sharing your grief with others and urges children to keep their parents' memories alive, as it emerged that he regularly writes to bereaved families and traumatised officers of the Metropolitan and City Police Orphans Fund, of which he is a patron.

The Duke of Cambridge hosted a reception for the family members and officers supported by the Fund at St. James Palace, where he spoke to the children and their families about his own experience with grief. He talked about losing his mum, Princess Diana, at the age of 15 and how he keeps a "memory box" to keep her memory alive.

According to Hello Magazine, Prince William also talked to the Fund's president, Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick, and revealed that he regularly writes to the bereaved families to help them with their grief. She revealed that the royal "writes quite often to families and sometimes to officers themselves and it's really very much appreciated."

"I'm trying to write as much as I can to people involved in the emergency services," Prince William told the commissioner, who noted that "he clearly has a passion for supporting people in public service, whether it's defence, military or emergency services."

She added that "with his background experiences, he knows a bit about the challenges these people will face. So many people commented to me you can see the empathy when he is talking to people."

Prince William extended his patronage of the Fund for three years and he hosted the reception to mark 150 years of the charity. Commissioner Dick expressed her gratitude and pride to have the Duke of Cambridge as their patron because he shows an interest, and "he speaks not just to these families, but to the wider city, that he's on our side, he's with us and thinking about us."

During the event, Prince William mingled with the children and even suggested to 10-year-old Emma that she keep a memory box of her father, who worked for Scotland Yard prior to his death five years ago. He urged her to talk about her dad and that it is very important because it keeps her memories of him alive.